Three outstanding events contributed to 2009 being a remarkable year for The University of Toledo College of Business Administration.

1) In June, UT COBA became one of only twelve new members from eight countries admitted to the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). This is the first time new members have been inducted into the GMAC in more than a decade.

Although there are more than 10,000 business schools worldwide, there are now only 177 schools in 19 countries that are members of GMAC.

David A. Wilson, GMAC president and CEO, said UT COBA inclusion in this select group demonstrates that it is “at the forefront of graduate management education around the world, upholding the high standards of excellence and integrity that are a hallmark of membership in the Council.”

2) In September, UT COBA was recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the best 300 business schools in the United States.

“We are pleased to recommend the UT College of Business Administration to readers of our book and users of our site, www.PrincetonReview.com, as one of the best institutions they could attend to earn an MBA,” noted Robert Franek, Princeton Review Senior VP-Publishing.

COBA Senior Associate Dean Anand Kunnathur observed, “Our inclusion in this select group is a seal of quality for our degree programs. It elevates the value of degrees received, leads to increased enrollment of high quality students, and enhances the qualifications of alumni. Furthermore, it benefits businesses nationwide by providing them with highly qualified graduates who become superb employees.”

In the profi le on UT COBA, the Princeton Review editors describe the school as: “One of the best in the Midwest, the MBA program at The University of Toledo features affordability and flexibility that help you expand your skills and opportunities without interrupting your career. The college's history of excellence in practical, relevant education based on cutting-edge research and business engagement will take your career to the next level. The UT MBA curriculum is designed to equip future leaders with relevant, real-world knowledge about the workings of every level of the enterprise: employees, customers, the firm itself, and all levels of the economy.”

“UT's College of Business Administration offers the region's preferred and largest MBA/EMBA program,” noted UT COBA Dean Thomas Gutteridge. “We have more students, more specializations and more flexibility than any other MBA program in this region.”

“Both of these important recognitions provide external validation to what we already knew to be true,” Gutteridge added. “Namely, that COBA provides teaching and learning excellence, and assists both students and those already in the workforce to advance their careers and their lives.”

3) In November, the UT College of Business Administration dedicated the Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement.

“This 54,000 sq. ft. facility is an essential expansion that will provide the sophisticated environment requisite of superior business schools such as ours,” Gutteridge said.

The Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement includes ten state-of-the-art classrooms seating from 30 to 125 students; five breakout rooms with video conferencing capabilities; eight conference rooms; the 40-seat FirstEnergy Boardroom, and even a rooftop garden.

Local business support of the Complex is seen throughout the facility, including the five action learning labs where students can sharpen their business skills through recordable training sessions, team projects and hands-on experience. They are:

• the Richard W. and Martha McEwen Information and Technology Management Lab

• the John B. & Lillian E. Neff Trading Room

• the PNC Entrepreneurship Lab

• the Huntington Professional Sales Lab

• the Ernst & Young LLP Leadership Lab

“UT COBA has taken our infrastructure and use of technology to the next level to further enhance our excellence and to provide the best possible learning environment for our students,” Gutteridge said, “as well as to continually expand our value to the business community.” Resource for the Business Community The Savage & Associates Complex will also serve as an enhanced portal to the regional business community. It has suites for the region's largest MBA/EMBA programs, the Executive Center for Global Competitiveness (ECGC), Center for Family & Privately Held Business, the Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales and other important programs provided within the College of Business Administration.

The Executive Center for Global Competitiveness focuses on assisting large and medium sized business, offering tailored consulting services, executive leadership and professional development, management training, process improvement and effective business innovation.

“Through seminars, workshops and numerous networking opportunities, the Center for Family & Privately Held Businesses helps family business owners and small, entrepreneurial businesses cope with issues unique to their environment,” Gutteridge said. “The Center provides them with innovative tools to expand their horizons and become more competitive on both regional and global scales.”

One way the Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales helps businesses is by providing top-rated interns and graduates skilled at applying modern day sales processes to real-world issues, Gutteridge said. “Furthermore, the School offers conferences designed to provide up-to-the minute learning opportunities, tools and techniques to current sales professionals to enhance the world of business practice related to selling and sales management in an ever-changing world.”

“Our positive relationship with the region's business community enables us to provide real-world experience to our students,” noted UT COBA Dean Thomas Gutteridge. “At the same time we want businesses to know that the knowledge and expertise within the College are here to help them, and that the Savage & Associates Complex will be a focal point for businesses to access these resources.”

To learn more, contact Dean Thomas Gutteridge at 419- 530-4612, or email Thomas.Gutteridge@utoledo.edu.

First Published December 9, 2009, 8:48 p.m.